Charleston

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Charleston is really just one of the most delicious places I have ever been, and on our last trip to South Carolina, though we didn’t have much time, we made a point of getting in two meals there. The first was lunch at Hominy Grill, which was recommended by several former Charleston residents, and brunch at 82 Queen, which you can read about here.

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As soon as we landed in Charleston I put Hominy Grill into the GPS, and we were off. It only took about 20 minutes to get there, and we received a warm welcome before being seated in the bustling restaurant. It’s always good to see a place that busy!

Our table had beautiful flowers, and our server was very sweet. We were on a mini vacation, so we started with cocktails. The South makes me think of bourbon so I had an Old Fashioned.

Hominy Grill Charleston Old Fashioned

Complimentary boiled peanuts kept our mouths full until our food came. As we often do, we ordered a few plates to share. I had a mental checklist of the Southern fare I wanted to indulge in, and Hominy Grill helped us to cover many of them.

boiled peanutspimiento cheese platePicnic Sampler pimento cheese, shaved country ham, pickled eggs, okra pickles & garlic toasts

The Picnic Sampler got me the pimiento cheese and okra that I was craving. I can’t get enough pickled okra!

 

fried green tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes with ranch dressing

Fried Green Tomatoes are a favorite; I’ve even made my own healthier version. The tomatoes at Hominy Grill were better.

fried chicken

Fried Chicken Basket with pickles & pepper relish

Fried chicken is another must-have in the South, and this was buttery and flaky and juicy with perfect pickles and a tangy pepper relish.

 

chocolate cake

Because we hadn’t chowed down quite enough, we went for two desserts, the chocolate cake and the buttermilk pie, which is a decadent, buttery, heavenly treat.

buttermilk pieWe left stuffed and delighted with the Southern hospitality and phenomenal food we enjoyed for lunch. If you are visiting Charleston, a visit to Hominy Grill should be on your list.

Tags: Charleston, Dining out, Food, food blog, Restaurants, Travel

My heart and prayers go out to those suffering from floods in South Carolina. If you are interested in donating money or supplies, here’s a link to how you can help.

 

Short and sweet, our time last weekend in Charleston was. It was far too short for my liking; I love that town so much! When planning our trip to a wedding in Myrtle Beach, we discovered that our best bet for flights was using JetBlue points to fly to Charleston and drive. The times of the flights were better, and it was direct, and I wanted to eat in Charleston. And eat we did! Despite having very little time, we managed to squeeze in lunch and a drive after landing and made our way back for a quick brunch before our flight back to Boston.

82 Queen Charleston We were overwhelmed with choices, but 82 Queen was on my list of places to try, and on a busy, beautiful Sunday, they had their bar open for brunch which meant no waiting 25-30 minutes like the other restaurants nearby. I wish we had more time to linger; the courtyard at 82 Queen was beautiful and looked relaxing. Next time!

We sat at the bar and the lovely ladies behind it got right to work making recommendations and bourbon drinks. They convinced us we had to have cocktails (It wasn’t hard) and had us try their favorites, the shrimp and grits and the crab cake Benedict.

shrimp and grits Their recommendations were spot-on, and the food and drinks were heavenly. I loved that 82 Queen had a bourbon cocktail menu, separate from the rest of the cocktails. I had the Muddled Creek: Knob Creek Bourbon, Muddled Orange Slice, Triple Sec, Ginger Ale, and it was delicious.

The grits were seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten, creamy and the perfect pillow for a tangy BBQ sauce with shrimp and bacon. The crab cake was all meat with a perfect poached egg and more of those grits. We chatted about Boston and Charleston, cleared our plates, and promised to come back before we were leaving on a jet plane again.

crab cake benedict

Flying to Charleston from Boston on JetBlue couldn’t have been easier. The flight is a quick two hours, and the Charleston Airport is quiet and easy. We dropped the car off and were through security in less than 10 minutes. We’re already planning our next trip.

What’s your favorite meal when traveling?

Tags: brunch, Charleston, Dining out, Food, Restaurants, Travel

Even though I have only spent a few days of my life there, Charleston, SC is one of my favorite cities. Beautiful, charming, fashionable, and a foodie paradise, Charleston is a place I want to visit again and again.

If you have been reading since the beginning, you may remember one of my earliest posts about High Cotton, one of the best meals I have ever had. It was so different than food I was used to, and I vowed to return someday.

Recent sightings of green tomatoes at the Siena Farms stand at the Copley Market and a post by Megan from Delicious Dishings had me thinking about High Cotton’s fried green tomatoes, so I finally took the plunge. For the record, Megan’s looked much better than mine 🙂

Frying scares me a little. Whatever I coat in crumbs or flour usually falls apart and makes a burnt, crummy mess. However, I will consider last night a success.

green tomatoes

I started with firm green tomatoes which I sliced in fairly thick slices.

green tomatoes

I mixed corn meal with pepper and salt.

corn meal

And one by one I coated the tomato slices in egg and cornmeal and pan fried them in just a bit of olive oil until the cornmeal looked a little brown. I probably could have cooked them more, but I was afraid of burnt crumbs 🙂

They came out delicious, and didn’t look too bad.

fried green tomatoes

fried green tomatoes with red onion jam

The green tomatoes I had at High Cotton were topped with a red onion jam, so I tried to create something similar. I simmered a whole red onion in several cups of white vinegar until the vinegar was almost all boiled away. I added a tiny bit of sugar, and topped the tomatoes. It was nice and tangy and went so well with the savory tomatoes.

We paired this with a 2007 Venge Gladys’ Vineyard Syrah, a nicely spicy red with some great dark fruit flavors and a lovely softness to it. This is a special wine, and I decided surviving a hellish work week was occasion enough!

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I am off to Turner Fisheries and then to Newport Winefest for the day. Have a great one, and if you get a chance, please go on over to CRAVE Boston’s website to check out my guest post on Catherine Stanton Schiff, the host of Cocktails for Everyone!

Tags: Charleston, green tomatoes, recipe, tomatoes

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